Kerala budget to be presented on March 11

Thiruvananthapuram: The one-month-long budget session of the Kerala Assembly will commence here on Friday with the policy address of Governor Arif Mohammed Khan.

Assembly Speaker M B Rajesh on Wednesday said the fourth session of the 15th Assembly would begin on February 18 and the budget would be presented by Finance Minister K N Balagopal on March 11.

The House would pay homage to late Thrikkakkara MLA P T Thomas, who had succumbed to cancer recently, on February 21 and there would be no other business on the day, he told reporters while detailing the proceedings of the upcoming session.

The Assembly would witness the motion of thanks on the Governor’s address for three days from February 22.

However, there would be no session from February 25 to March 10, he said.

”Finance Minister K N Balagopal will present the budget and the related documents for the financial year 2022-23 in the House on March 11. A general discussion on the budget will be held on March 14, 15 and 16,” the Speaker said.

The House, on March 22, would consider the government’s vote on account to meet the expenses of the initial four months of the financial year, he said adding that the budget session is scheduled to be ended on the next day after completing all necessary proceedings.

On other programmes, conducted under the aegis of the Kerala Assembly, Rajesh said a two-day national conference of women legislators of the country is planned to be organised here as part of the ”Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav”, an initiative of the Centre to commemorate the 75th year of independence. An international book festival is also on the anvil to mark the year-long centenary celebrations of the Kerala Legislature Library. He also said despite the challenges posed by the COVID pandemic, the Kerala Assembly convened for 61 days in the year 2021, which was the highest among assemblies in other states.